Medical needs surging in Iran and supplies under threat, Red Cross warns
Emergency medical needs in Iran are rising exponentially, and stocks of trauma kits and other gear could run low if the war persists, the head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red CrescentSocieties delegation there said on Thursday.
More than 1,900 people have been killed since the US-Israeli airstrikes on Iran began on February 28, and more than 21,000 injured, according to the agency - the only humanitarian group working across the country. Other estimates are higher.
Maria Martinez told Reuters three of the agency's own workers had died on duty, including one during an airstrike on March 31 that hit a medical clinic in Zanjan province. She did not attribute blame for the killings.
'You can sense the fear'
"Our concern is really how the humanitarian needs are escalating so rapidly and (over) our ability to bring all the support into the country," Martinez said.
Hopes for a swift end to the conflict faded on Thursday after US President Donald Trump vowed to conduct more aggressive strikes.
Washington has said its Iran strikes are being carried out with precision. Israel's military has said it takes measures to mitigate harm against civilians during its operations.
Martinez said there were no shortages of emergency stocks for now, but the situation would worsen if the fighting continued, especially as the price of supplies went up and their insufficient funding ran low.
“The needs are exponentially increasing. Resources are not unlimited," she said.
She was concerned that people's fears of bombings would stop them from venturing out to seek aid.
"The streets are completely empty ... You can sense the fear, you can sense the uncertainty in people's eyes,” she said in a video interview from Tehran.
More international support "is essential"
The aid group says it has 100,000 responders across the country's 31 provinces as well as helicopters and rescue dogs, and provides first aid for those injured by airstrikes and support for the displaced.
One IFRC rescue worker called to help clear rubble discovered his own family were among the dead buried there. Others take turns sleeping at the IFRC offices to be on standby in the case of bombings, she added.
Work was frequently disrupted and staff were transcribing documents by hand because of power and Internet cuts.
"We are in the middle of a meeting and the alarms are activated. We need to evacuate immediately and this happens three, four, six times per day," she said. The agency had been unable to import vital supplies from its Dubai warehouse for weeks amid a logistical quagmire exacerbated by Iran's shutting down of the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation for US-Israeli strikes.
It now aims to ship them overland from Turkey on April 7, IFRC supply chain director Cecile Terraz said, but it will take weeks.
The IFRC may have to raise its 40 million Swiss Franc ($50.05 million) emergency appeal even though it is currently only 6 per cent funded, Martinez said. "Increasing international support is essential to protect civilians and sustain this emergency response operation."
Argentina expels Iran's charge d'affaires
Argentina's government declared Iran's charge d'affaires, Mohsen Tehrani, "persona non grata" and expelled him from the country, Argentina's Foreign Minister said in a statement on Thursday.
The measure orders Tehrani to leave the country within 48 hours.
Middle East ceasefire key to ensuring safe navigation in Strait of Hormuz: China's foreign minister
A ceasefire and an end to the fighting in the Middle East are fundamental to ensuring safe navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, Chinese foreign minister said on Thursday.
The issue of passage through the Strait of Hormuz is a spillover effect of the Iran war and the strait will not be stable as long as the fighting continues, the minister warned, state agency reported Thursday.
Minister Wang Yi made the remarks during a call with the European Union's top diplomat Kaja Kallas and called on all parties to rally consensus and create necessary conditions for it, according to a statement from his ministry.
Iran continues to strike Israel and Gulf countries
Iran responded defiantly to Trump's speech, in which the American president claimed US military action had been so decisive that "one of the most powerful countries" is "really no longer a threat".
A spokesman for Iran's military, Lt. Col. Ebrahim Zolfaghari, insisted Thursday that Tehran maintains hidden stockpiles of arms, munitions and production facilities. He said facilities targeted so far by US strikes are "insignificant".
Just before Trump began his address - in which he said US "core strategic objectives are nearing completion" - explosions were heard in Dubai as air defences worked to intercept an Iranian missile barrage.
Less than a half-hour after the president was done, Israel said its military was also working to intercept incoming missiles. Sirens sounded in Bahrain, home to the US Navy's 5th Fleet, immediately after the speech.
Attacks continued across Iran on Thursday, with strikes reported in multiple cities.
In Lebanon - home to Iran-backed Hezbollah militants who are fighting Israel, which has launched a ground invasion - an Israeli strike killed four people in the south, the Health Ministry said.
More than 1,900 people have been killed in Iran during the war, while 19 have been reported dead in Israel. More than two dozen people have died in Gulf states and the occupied West Bank, while 13 US service members have been killed.
More than 1,200 people have been killed and more than 1 million displaced in Lebanon. Ten Israeli soldiers have also died there.
Iran shuts down two of its biggest steel plants
Al Jazeera reported that two of Iran’s biggest steel plants – Khuzestan Steel Company in the city of Ahvaz and Mobarakeh Steel Company in the central Isfahan province have been pushed out of service following a series of US-Israeli attacks.
Mobarakeh Steel Company said that its “production lines have completely shut down following the high volume of attacks”.
The deputy head of operations at the Khuzestan Steel Company, Mehran Pakbin, said the company does not anticipate restarting halted units for at least another six months, according to Iran’s Mizan Online website.
Germany calls on China to help steer Iran toward a negotiated solution
Germany’s Foreign Ministry said its diplomat Johann Wadephul spoke with China’s Wang Yi about the West Asia conflict, with both sides expressing hopes for a quick resolution to the conflict.
UK calls summit with more than 30 nations on Strait of Hormuz reopening
Foreign ministers from almost three dozen countries will meet Thursday in an effort to exert diplomatic and political pressure to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route that has been choked off by the US-Israeli war against Iran.
The US is not among the countries attending Thursday's meeting, which comes after President Donald Trump made clear that he thinks securing the waterway, closed as a consequence of the US-Israeli war on Iran, is not America's job.
Trump has also disparaged America's European allies for failing to support the war and renewed his threats to pull the US out of NATO.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the virtual meeting chaired by Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper "will assess all viable diplomatic and political measures we can take to restore freedom of navigation, guarantee the safety of trapped ships and seafarers and to resume the movement of vital commodities."
Hormuz Strait disruption has triggered major economic and energy instability: Indian navy chief
The Strait of Hormuz disruptions have caused severe economic impact and energy instability in the region, Indian Navy chief Admiral D K Tripathi said on Thursday amid the war in West Asia.
The admiral said competition at sea is no longer confined to oil and energy. It is expanding to resources that will shape future growth, he asserted.
The West Asia crisis began on February 28 after a joint attack by the US and Israel on Iran.
Iran's strikes on its neighbours along with its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz have disrupted the world's energy supplies with effects far beyond West Asia.
UK foreign secretary calls Iran 'recklessness' over global economic instability
According to BBC reports, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper has condemned Iran's "recklessness" for "hitting global economic security", as she addressed a virtual meeting of foreign ministers.
The meeting is aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz - a vital shipping route in the Middle East.
Macron says it is unrealistic to open Hormuz Strait by force
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday it would be unrealistic to launch a military operation to force open the Strait of Hormuz, after U.S. President Donald Trump challenged U.S. allies to work towards reopening it.
"Some people defend the idea of freeing the Strait of Hormuz by force via a military operation, a position sometimes expressed by the United States, although it has varied," Macron told reporters during a trip to South Korea.
"This was never the option we have supported because it is unrealistic," he added. "It would take forever, and would expose all those who go through the strait to risks from the guardians of the revolution but also ballistic missiles," he said.
Our Indian friends are in safe hands, no worries: Iran in India
Our Indian friends are in safe hands, no worries: Iran in India
Missile intercepted near KEZAD in Abu Dhabi, minor damage reported, media office says
Authorities in Abu Dhabi responded to an incident near Khalifa Economic Zones Abu Dhabi (KEZAD) after air defence systems intercepted a missile, the Abu Dhabi Media Office said on Thursday, adding that there was minor damage and no injuries.
US Embassy warns of militia attack risk in Baghdad; urges Americans to leave Iraq
The US Embassy in Baghdad warned citizens on Thursday that Iran-linked militias in Iraq "may intend to conduct attacks in central Baghdad in the next 24-48 hours".
The embassy said the attacks could target "US citizens, businesses, universities, diplomatic facilities, energy infrastructure, hotels, airports, and other locations perceived to be associated with the United States, as well as Iraqi institutions and civilian targets".
It was not the first statement issued by the embassy urging US citizens to leave Iraq, but the warning about potential attacks was unusually specific.
An American freelance journalist, Shelly Kittleson, was kidnapped in Baghdad on Tuesday and remains missing. No group has claimed responsibility, but US officials have blamed the Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah militia for her abduction.
Iran's military warns of 'more destructive' attacks until adversaries' 'surrender'
Tehran will press on with the Middle East war until the United States and Israel face "permanent regret and surrender", the spokesperson of its armed forces' unified command said on Thursday, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.
The threat followed comments by U.S. President Donald Trump that Washington would hit Iran "extremely hard" within weeks, although Iran was "essentially decimated" with the United States on track to achieve its military objectives.
Ebrahim Zolfaqari, spokesperson of the Khatam al-Anbiya central headquarters, responded that U.S. and Israeli assessments of Iran’s military capabilities were "incomplete".
Iran would step up its military actions, with "more crushing, broader and more destructive" attacks in store for its adversaries, he added.
Humanitarian aid trapped in Strait of Hormuz chokehold, global agency head warns
President of the International Rescue Committee David Miliband made these remarks during an online briefing with journalists after visiting Syria and war-torn Lebanon.
Over USD 100,000 worth of IRC humanitarian aid for lifesaving initiatives is trapped in its hub in Dubai.
Iran has been cementing its chokehold the Strait of Hormuz in the ongoing war with the United States and Israel, the world's most important artery for oil shipments.
"Thirty percent of the world's fertilizer goes through there," said Miliband, fearing a food security crisis in many vulnerable countries where the organisation works. "We are advocating that all the goods in that hub be given safe passage immediately."
Traffic through the strait has fallen by 90 per cent since the start of the Iran war, sending global oil prices skyrocketing and inflicting alarming shortages on the Asian nations that get their oil from Persian Gulf countries via the strait.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres set up an initiative to allow humanitarian assistance to move through the strait in a bid to prevent a global food crisis.
